


walk me down the glowing pavement (the road that leads to you)

by raventiques



Category: K-pop, NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Fluff, Football | Soccer Player Nakamoto Yuta, M/M, Soulmates, soft n cute ~, yutae
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-16
Updated: 2018-05-16
Packaged: 2019-05-07 22:04:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14680383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raventiques/pseuds/raventiques
Summary: taeyong knew that he shouldn't be in love with his best friend; for a multitude of reasons. for one thing, he had a soulmate.or, soulmate au in which your soulmate smells of your favourite scents, and taeyong wonders why yuta doesn't smell so bad after a football match.





	walk me down the glowing pavement (the road that leads to you)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Nalii](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nalii/gifts).



> [based on a cc prompt](https://curiouscat.me/raventiques/post/480684131): _"Soulmate yutae au where their other halves smells like your favorite scent when you hit 18. Yuta just finished a hardcore football match and he looks sweaty and gross with some dirt and grass sticking on his skin, but all Taeyong could smell is fresh sun-dried laundry and he didn't know if he should tell Yuta to take a shower first or kiss him right there."_
> 
> no trigger warning. happy reading!!

   The humid July air enveloped Taeyong as he sat on the blaringly hot, metal bench. The evening sky was apricot, and his hands and throat were tired from all of the clapping and cheering.

   It hardly mattered, because it was for _Yuta_. And anything was worth it if it was for Yuta.

   Taeyong spotted his best friend in the crowd of green and white uniforms with ease.

   (A horrible colour combination, really, but Yuta still somehow managed to make it work.)

   The match had ended at a draw, and both teams seemed content. Even after years, Taeyong still didn’t understand the game with any kind of certainty; no matter how many times Yuta had tried to explain it to him.

   Nothing ever really sunk in, because Yuta would get all excited, his eyes widening and shining brighter than every star in the sky. And whenever Yuta was _there_ , looking at Taeyong like he meant the entire world to him, Taeyong forgot how to breathe.

   It was pathetic, honestly. And he knew that he shouldn’t be falling for his best friend, but that was practically impossible when Yuta quite literally radiated warmth and comfort and _healing_.

   The stands began to empty, people standing up and walking down the steel steps. Taeyong followed suit, throwing Yuta’s jacket over his shoulder as he made his way down. Why Yuta would bring his jacket on a warm day like this, Taeyong truly didn’t know.

   (“It’s for good luck!”

   “But it’s so heavy.” Taeyong furrowed his eyebrows at him. “Did it _have_ to be a baseball jacket? You play football, Yukkuri.”)

   Even through the shoes, Taeyong could feel just how soft the grass was. And combined with the warm air and the beaming sun, it truly felt like the beginning of summer.

   Taeyong spotted Yuta easily, as distinct as a single star among a navy backdrop, conversing with one of his team mates. He was tall – taller than Yuta was, with muscular arms and jet black hair, and Yuta was looking at him like _that_ -

   Taeyong couldn’t be jealous. He had no right to be jealous.

   Still, that did nothing to prevent the twinge of jealousy in his chest. A painful reminder that Taeyong’s soulmate would be someone who wasn’t Yuta. That the universe hated him and his soulmate wouldn’t be the person who he wanted it to be the most.

   Yuta caught his eye. He smiled, wide and full, his eyes outshining the sun itself. And Taeyong could have sworn he stopped breathing then and there.

   “Hey.” He greeted him when he walked over, messy hair pulled back and highlighting his features flawlessly.

   Taeyong blinked, shaking himself out of his foolish fantasy.

   “Is there something on my face?” Yuta questioned him, but he was smiling, _glowing_ against the setting sun. Taeyong only gave him a light shove, his palms probably sweating more than Yuta’s.

   “Yeah, actually,” he said. “You have mud on your cheek.”

   Yuta lifted a defensive hand up to one of his cheeks – the wrong one. “And?”

   “And,” Taeyong began, taking the opportunity to scan his best friend’s face, absorbing every detail as if he’d never seen them before. “Grass in your hair.” He added with a teasing smile.

   Yuta narrowed his eyes at him, but it remained playful. “You’re mean.”

   Taeyong shrugged, not taking his eyes away from the boy he was hopelessly in love with. “You asked. I’m just being honest.”

   Yuta wrapped his strong arm around Taeyong’s shoulder as they walked, and Taeyong ignored the way the butterflies in his chest wouldn’t stop fluttering. And the way that Yuta’s arm fit perfectly, and how much he wanted to lean into his embrace.

   And how much Taeyong really, really didn’t want his soulmate to be anyone other than the boy walking right next to him.

   “We won, didn’t we?”

   “It was a draw,” Taeyong corrected him, ever so slightly leaning into his embrace. If he was going to have to be paired with a soulmate, he may as well enjoy the time he had with Yuta now.

   “Okay, but we didn’t _lose_ ,” said Yuta. “I think this calls for pizza at my place.”

   Taeyong laughed lowly, refusing to look up at the smiling face that was going to be the death of him. “Sure, but you need to shower first.”

   Yuta huffed, and Taeyong spared a fleeting glance at him. The sun caressed his face, bouncing off his eyelashes and accentuating his cheekbones. His full, pink lips curved upwards. Even with mud on his face, and grass in his hair, he still looked heavenly.

   Taeyong bit his lip, looking away when he felt the harsh pain in his chest. Cursing the world because no matter how much he wanted it to be, it wasn’t going to be Yuta. It wasn’t.

   “Do I _have_ to shower?” He proceeded to sniff his forearm. “I don’t smell that bad, right?”

   Taeyong shook his head, because they had this conversation every single time. “Yes, you do. You smell like…”

   Taeyong leaned in, pausing when something strange occurred to him.

   He blinked. Once. Twice.

   “Taeyong-ah, why are you sniffing me?” Yuta frowned at him, but his tone was still light. “Do I really smell that bad?”

   Taeyong blinked at him again, incredulous, because _this_ couldn’t be-

   He pulled himself from Yuta’s embrace, taking a hesitant step.

   “Taeyong?”

   No response.

   “Come on, let’s go. I’ll shower, okay?” Yuta said, concern showing in his diamond eyes, almost making Taeyong lose focus. “I didn’t realise I smell that bad.”

   Taeyong slowly shook his head, his brows furrowed because _this couldn’t be true_.

   “No…” he began, biting his lip. “Yuta.”

   “Taeyong, you’re kind of scaring me right now,” said Yuta, taking a tentative step forward. “You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.”

   “Yuta.”

   “What?”

   “You smell…nice.”

   Yuta watched him in disbelief, looking around as if he was expecting someone to explain it all.

   “Yuta.” Taeyong inhaled. “You know what you smell like right now?

   Yuta stared at him, running a hand through his hair, causing for some of the grass stuck in it to fall out.

   “Taeyong-”

   “You smell like green tea. And febreeze. And melons, and strawberry macrons and sun-dried laundry and…” he paused, gathering himself. “You smell like _you_.”

   Yuta watched him for a long time, his brain taking longer than usual to process Taeyong’s words.

   “B-but those are all of _your_ favourite smells,” he murmured. Taeyong only nodded at him, eyes blinking away the tears that were already forming.

   And then:

   “ _Oh_.”

   “You’re so stupid,” Taeyong laughed lightly, though he hardly found it funny. Because Yuta hadn’t indicated anything yet, he didn’t want to say it _yet_.

   “So that means we’re…?”

   Taeyong nodded at him.

   “Oh. _Oh my god_.” Yuta ran his hands through his hair, and Taeyong would usually be extremely concerned about what his dirt-covered hands would be doing to his hair, but right now, that wasn’t what was on Taeyong’s mind at all.

   “I-I’m sorry,” he stammered, looking down and fiddling with the end of his shirt. “I shouldn’t have…I just got excited because I’ve kind of been in love with you for a while a-and I didn’t want my soulmate to be anyone but you and I was terrified that I was going to-”

   He was cut off when Yuta’s warm lips met his own, a tender, honeyed kiss against his lips. It was _magic_ , the way their lips collided, and Taeyong was absolutely certain that he could feel all of the constellations in his chest bursting, sparks flying, every single firework exploding. Because _it was Yuta_. It had always been Yuta. A part of him knew that it was Yuta when they first met, sat next to each other in History class on the first day of high school. And even now, it was still Yuta.

   It had always been Yuta.

   Yuta’s lips were soft against his, and Taeyong could feel the way that Yuta pulled him closer, not caring about his grass or mud-stained kit tainting him at all.

   When their lips parted, Yuta said something in Japanese that Taeyong didn’t understand. Taeyong frowned at him, tilted his head to one side.

   “I’ve been in love with you,” Yuta poked his shoulder, “for _so_ long. I thought that was obvious.”

   Taeyong blinked at him. “Not obvious enough.”

   Yuta laughed, throwing his head back and Taeyong couldn’t believe just how strikingly _soft_ he looked in the sunlight, lines forming around his mouth, precious eyes crinkling.

   “But you still smell like you.”

   “That’s because you’re not eighteen yet, Yukkuri,” Taeyong told him. “I _hope_ I smell of something nice.”

   Yuta slipped his hand into Taeyong’s, intertwining their fingers. And Taeyong had honestly never cared less about hygiene before.

   “Depends. Do you think that Takoyaki smells nice?”

   Before Taeyong could respond, he pulled Taeyong towards him, dragging him down a separate path. A shortcut to the bus stop that wasn’t really a shortcut, but a path that they preferred to take anyway.

   Taeyong groaned, and Yuta only laughed at him, planting a fleeting kiss on his cheek.

   “I’m kidding. Maybe watermelon? Or cherry blossoms. Or freshly watered grass.” He frowned at himself, and Taeyong found it _adorable_. “Can’t October come any quicker?”

   “No,” Taeyong said. “And you still need to shower, Yukkuri. Just because you smell nice to me doesn’t mean that you do to everyone else.”

   Yuta tilted his head to one side, gazing at him.

   “Fine. And then pizza after?”

   “And then pizza after.”

   Yuta nodded, shifting slightly until he asked again.

   “…and kisses?”

   Taeyong could feel a small smile tugging at his lips, catching the way that Yuta glanced at him with hopeful, ocean eyes.

   “And kisses,” replied Taeyong. “Or you could just kiss me now.”

   And Yuta did. Another, quick kiss on his lips, the sensation of his best friend and soulmate _kissing him_ sending a wave of affection through his chest. It was soft and it was sweet and it was _Yuta_. It was always Yuta. It had always been Yuta. It was always going to be Yuta.

   And walking through the evening street, with their hands intertwined, Taeyong wondered how on earth he got so lucky.

**Author's Note:**

> [twt](http://twitter.com/raventiques) / [cc](https://curiouscat.me/raventiques) / [yutae archive ](https://ao3feed-yutae.tumblr.com/)
> 
> thank you to **Nalii** who sent this to me and thank you all so much for reading.


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